The E-mail Standards Project it’s a reference on this market of E-mail Marketing. In such a medium that every e-mail client, a web mail or a desktop client such as Outlook or Lotus Notes, have severe differences on the way it shows the received messages.

In some of them, it’s the background images that doesn’t work, others it’s the notorious CSS that the web designers love to use, but in general just apply on web pages. It’s a fact that sending an e-mail, has much more details that influence the results than we could imagine. This is the reason why it’s essential to have a standard to all systems.

I consider, in this case, that this project it’s extremely valuable and gives some precious hints to whom is working on an massive e-mail creativity.

The political French site Rue89 has joined to the video commenting trend, has this blog, in case you’ve noticed, using Seesmic’s Technology.

It’s a laudable initiative. Sometimes, the only way to demonstrate true courage and truthfulness regarding those who use the internet with the purpose of offending and make destructive criticisms based on the pretence anonymity.

I’ll be watching and see how the system is accepted.

According to a recent study performed by Frost & Sullivan, the mobile e-mail will support something like 6,6 billion Euros at 2012 in Europe.

In that study, the European market already moved 1,86 billion Euros at 2007, nevertheless, the same study points out that the lack of a technology standard that “reads” and shows the messages can diminish that performance.

In fact, even on webmail systems there are discrepancies and each system exposes the same e-mail on different ways. You just need to compare and open the same e-mail on an Outlook or Mozilla and then open it on a Webmail like Hotmail. To prevent the incompatibilities at the very maximum I suggest to use the plain and simple HTML coding following the standard and the best practices. Be careful with the message code.

After having received a lot of spam e-mail messages from this entity, I’ve done a commercial contact to the OneDirect Portugal’s call-center last week. I’ve done that because it seemed to me that they would be receptive to this approach, so nothing better than present a extremely effective way to communicate their brand and products to more than 1 million Portuguese subscribers that I have on database who have given their permission to send them commercial e-mailings within their interests.

Here’s the report of my phone conversation with the first person that answered the call, making reference that this is not a exactly the same as the phone call because I was not recording and I challenge One Direct to publish the recording that they eventually have  and compare their version and my own:

Riiing… Riiing, Riiing… Good afternoon, this is $&#%!§ (I don’t remember the name because I was expecting to be passed to someone else and this was only the front office) how can I help you?

Rui Nunes (following just RN): Good Afternoon, my name is Rui Nunes and I would like to speak to your communication and marketing department, please. Can you provide their contacts?

The person I spoke to from the Call Center, which I had the biggest fault of not asking his name (following just TPISFTCCWIHTBFONAHN): We don’t have that kind of department in Portugal.

RN: Humm… in that case, can I speak to your Sales Manager or give me the direct contacts to that department?

TPISFTCCWIHTBFONAHN: That’s not necessary, you can speak to me.

RN: But I would like to speak to your Sales Manager. Even if it is an international contact I believe that it’s on mutual interest to reach him.

TPISFTCCWIHTBFONAHN: I’ve told you that you can speak to me. I’m the commercial representative of the company at Portugal.

RN: In that case, let me explain the business model and the main reason I consider to be of the most importance to your communication strategy at the Iberia Peninsula. I’m the Country Manager of Canalmail Portugal and we have a Permission E-mail Marketing Database that comply all the ethical practices of online direct marketing and…………….. (interruption)

TPISFTCCWIHTBFONAHN: We are not interested. The OneDirect Group already has an inside company that provide that kind of service.

RN: Perfect. That allow us to complete your offer with a more broadly audience…… (2nd interruption)

TPISFTCCWIHTBFONAHN: It’s not necessary. I’ve told you that we have an inside company group that already does that and is your competition.

RN: In that case, can you tell me that company’s name to reach them and…….(3rd Interruption)

TPISFTCCWIHTBFONAHN: Obviously not. If it is you competition….

RN: Sorry? Why can’t you tell me? What one thing has to do with the other? By the way, I really don’t believe that we are, in fact, competition, because your company does not have the same subscribers that we have due to our business model of gathering through afiliates and… (4th Interruption)

TPISFTCCWIHTBFONAHN: It’s no use. I’m not going to tell you the name of a competitor company as it is obvious. As I said, we don’t need your services.

RN: Forgive for saying this, but I’m considering this conversation very unusual. I’m not following the reason for not telling me the… (5th Interruption)

TPISFTCCWIHTBFONAHN: Have a pleasant afternoon.

RN: (I did a double take) … ergh… Good afternoon to you too…

TPISFTCCWIHTBFONAHN: Clic! * piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

In short and not being completely literal, this was the perception that I’ve received after this business contact. Reflections of this conversation?
First, I’m terribly disturbed by the lack of professionalism of the receiver at the call center. At least he would have listen in full of what I had to say, making one of two options: He would pass me to  the right person and then it would be given a straight answer, or he would explain to me the coherent and rational reasons for which they would not engage a business relation with us.
Second, my percepcion of OneDirect as a company or a products supplier was completelly shredded, what become a serious damage to the PR and Image Investment by them on what my person is concerned. Not to mention the viral effect that this issue has gathered, since I’ve shared this situation to my coleagues and friends, as I’m sharing here for those who are willing to read this.
Third, I don’t believe that this is the official version of this company as an internation entity and I’ll do all what is in my power to reach them and report what just happened as an incovenient and not professional response. Because I don’t want this examples to increase and I refute this way of handling the business approaches. It’s almost a lack of respect to whom is calling. I hear ALL of those who contact me on straight and direct way and explain some service that they think is relevant to my company. In case I don’t think that is an asset for us as a company strategy or simply because I don’t need it at that time, I explain why in a clear and reasonable way, using valid arguments and ONLY AFTER they’ve concluded the presentation. Sometimes, it’s not the first service presented that it’s interesting but the second one or the third to become precisely the one that we were searching a few days ago.

Please, give me your feedback on this matter and share your thoughts and experiences in cases like this one.

Thank you very much…

UPDATE: I’ve just checked and their emails are being sent by dotlist.net which is a client’s database e-mailing management and deployment company. In short, they don’t have their own databases. I’m even more confused about their arguments.

On the previous article an error occurred that opened all the languages on the same article.
Such situation is due to my ignorance on some technical insertions and external plugins which contains distinctive programming from standard.

My sincere appollogies for the potential difficulty on reading this article or receiving the RSS.

This is my facebook profile, the biggest social network of the hour.

I’ve been making some comments on several sites of the medium about this project. On most times, due to my ignorance, as the way they intend to profit from this project that many compare, too fast on my point of view, to Google because of the astonishing growth.

Then, I decided to really log in and see all of the functionalities which brings someone to pass some dairy minutes on this network. My main intention right now is to see profitability chances to the project, specially now that has benefit from a profound facelift, to help this intentions, I believe.

To the moment, we can see some chances to make some money by the entrepreneurs of this brand, but I want to dig dipper and then share my thoughts. If you want to share experiences, add me on facebook and we can interact with the web applications.

I had the pleasure this week to meet a friend of mine which I have been having business deals for quite a few years, but until now, we haven’t met in person. Is name is Jaroslaw Szemet, of the Marketing and Business Development department of the Composys Group, with headquarters on Poland.

Jarek is a professional with a vast experience on the online advertising market and is maintaining several European campaigns to his project Eurorest where effectiveness is the keyword.

This is another good example which only communication campaigns based on results and with a rigorous planning can achieve excellent results and provides long commercial connections.

On the future I’ll give some examples on how rigorous planning like this one, can make a difference and relaunch companies in such a competitive market.

Kind Regards Jarek and keep up the good businesses.

Here’s the reference to the article that I’ve published at the environmental and sustainability concerned professionals community.

We all, have the responsibility as human beings and as members of a society on which all of us, inclusive the ones to be born, has the right to enjoy the same things that we had the privilege to benefit.

We must preserve this patrimony. It’s at the hands of all os us.

This video which is relatively old (2006) demonstrates how viral marketing can be a solution to brands with poor budget and really make a difference. The most unbelievable is, that in 2008, on the so called evolved markets it still something new and actual.

This is the way, that the Turismo de Portugal association has found to spread the brand and “invite” the foreign tourists to visit Portugal and his traditions.

For what I’ve seen on the Portuguese press, there are serious critics to the choices that have been made, on the Allgarve and VisitPortugal.com brands.

I’m not going to enter in polemic debate about the motivations of each side of the “barracks”. Just to make my point: The online and off-line communication should always obey to a strategic marketing plan and comply with defined and previous established objectives. It cannot have distinctive communication or have different targets because people live and are present on both communications.

Have this been said, let’s move on.

My congratulations to the VisitPortugal.com brand for the great season on the last few years, because it was the only time that has been seen around the world since the beginning of this endeavours. It as invested in television and outdoors mainly, but recently has chosen some alternative mediums and new technologies. One of them, that I only recently have been aware of, was the podcast developed by the brand with small and extremely appealing films.

It’s on the subscriptions top list of the iTunes for some reason.